Cigar lighter



Sept. 21, 1943. H. e. LEHMANN C IGAR LIGHTER Filed Aug. 8, 1938 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 21, 1943. H. s. LEHMANN CIGAR LIGHTER Filed Aug. 8,1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR G eff am? Sept. 21, 1943. v 3, LEHMANNV2,329,844

CIGAR LIGHTER Filed Aug. 8, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 if INVENTOR 24fierberi G Lei/mam? we BY Patented Sept. 21, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CIGAR LIGHTER Application August 8, 1938, Serial No. 223,626

4 Claims.

This invention relates to cigar lighters, and, more particularly, to thetype in which the circuit to the heating element is opened upon theheating element reaching a predetermined desired usable heat.

In prior cigar lighters having a removable ig niting unit, the unit wasnormally urged into open-circuit position, but was held in aclosedcircuit position during the energizing, period against said urgeby means of a thermostatic latch which may or may not form a part of aswitch in the circuit. In holding the circuit closed, a strain may beplaced on the thermostatic element as it must overcome the pull of themeans normally provided for urging the igniting unit into open-circuitposition, which strain may alter its operation when it becomes heated soas to open the circuit through the heating element. 7

According to the present invention, the igniting unit is held inclosed-circuit position by a detent or latch which is held in lockingposition by an electromagnet. The circuit to the electromagnet iscontrolled by a thermostatic switch in such a manner that when theheating element attains the desired usable heat, the switch will open,thus opening the circuit to the magnet whereby the detent willreleaseits holding action on the igniting unit so that it can be moved into edto attain its desired heat in one or two seconds.

The electromagnetically-operated latch means of the present inventioncomprises a magnet coil surrounding the holder and a latch mounted onthe holder so as'to extend into theholder and provided with an armatureextending into operative relation with the magnet. Preferably, thelatch, which extends into the holder and into the path of movement ofthe igniting unit as the latter is moved into closed-circuit position,is yieldably and pivotally mounted on the holder, and is provided with acam 'surface which cooperates with the igniting unit to move the latchoutwardly on its yieldable mounting until the igniting unit is movedinto closed-circuit position at which time an abutment on theignitingunit is moved past the latch and permits it to snap back into holdingrelation with the igniting unit.

The circuit for the device is so arranged that when it is closed toenergize the heating element, it also will close an energizing circuitto the magnet coil and render the magnetic detent operable to hold theigniting unit in closed-circuit position. This circuit is provided witha heat-responsive switch which, upon the heating element reaching itspredetermined desired usable heat, will open the circuit and deenergizeth magnet coil. The detent will be released and the igniting unit, whichis normally urged into open-circuit position, will cause the detent tomove about the pivotal mounting.

If the device be of thequick-heating type, it is desirable to have aquick-acting switch in the circuit so that it will open the circuit tothe magnet immediately upon the heating coil attaining its desiredusable heat to prevent the coil from burning out. As soon as thequick-acting switch opens the circuit, the magnetic detent will bereleased and the heating element moved into open-circuit position.

With the magnetic detent holding the igniting unit in closed-circuitposition against the pressure of the means urging the igniting unit intoopen-circuit position, no strain is applied to the.

heat-responsive means, and it can more accurately control the circuit tothe heating element and the magnet than when it served to hold theigniting unit in closed-circuit position.

Other features and advantages will be apparent from the specificationand claims when taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal sectional View of a holder with theigniting unit in open-circuit position.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the holder and a portion ofthe igniting unit, with the igniting unit in closed-circuit position.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holder showing anotherform of the invention, with the igniting unit in open-circuit position.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holder and a portion ofthe igniting unit showing the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3,with the igniting unit in closed-circuit position.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holder showing anotherform of the invention, with the igniting unit in open-circuit position.

Fig. 'l is a longitudinal sectional view of the holder and portion ofthe igniting unit of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, with theigniting unit in closed-circuit position.

Fig. 8'i's a sectional view taken along line 88 of Fig. 7.

'In the form' of the invention shown in Figs. 1

and 2, a sheet metal holder 28 is provided and has a transverse wall 2|at one end. The sheet metal holder is adapted to be mounted in anaperture 22 in a dashboard 23 or other support and locked in place inany suitable manner. Preferably, the holder is provided with a pluralityof tangs 24, as shown in Fig. 8, which engage the back of the dashboard,and a collar 25 is threaded on the open end 26 of the holder and intoengagement with the outer face of the dashboard to clamp the holder inplace in the aperture therein and ground it to the dashboard.

The holder is adapted to slidably receive a removable igniting unit 313and is provided with a fixed base contact 3| havinga plurality ofresilient contact fingers iiia projecting into the holder to cooperatewith the igniting unitto form an energizing circuit as will beexplained. The contact is mounted on the wall 2| by a bolt .32insulated'ly mounted in an aperture in the wall with the contactdisposed under the head 33 of thebolt and held in place bya nut 34threaded on the ireeend. of. the bolt.

The igniting unit, which is adapted to-be removably mountedin theholder, comprisesa tubular member 31 of insulating. material, having aportion of reduced diameter 38-to which is threaded a handle 3.9. Theother endof the tubular body carries the conducting cap.- on which is.-mounted a heating element 41..

The heating element, in the preferred form. of the invention, comprises:a spiral coil of resistance wire which: is disposed in a contact cup 4-2and has one end connected thereto and the other end-connectedto acentral stud 43-. The contact cup is-clamped against an insulating cap44 whichis provided with an internal recess 45 adapted to receive aprojecting portion 40 of the conducting cap 4.13; The" contact cup andinsulating cap-are held: to-the projecting portion 40o by heading'over'the central stud. which also electrically connects the end of the coilto the conducting cap; The outer surface of themsulating cap M isvprovided with a circular recess liforining an abutment 41,.the purposeofwhich will be later described.

The igniting unit 38' is. normally held inshallow open-circuitpositionby means of afriction sleeve 49 slidably and frictionally held intheholder and; having; an outwardly flared end 50 adapted toengagethecollar 25, as shown in Fig; 1, which limits the inward movement of thesleeve 59 in the holder.. The inner end of the sleeve is turnedinwardlyto: form aflange 5-! which slidably engages the portion of the 'reduced.diameter 38: of the tubular member- 31, and form-sari abutment for oneend of a spring 52 which surrounds. the reduced portion 38 of theinsulating; member, the-other end of the spring ahuttingthehandle-threaded on the end of the tubular body 31 'When it-is desired toenergize theheating element,;thehandle ismanu ally pressed so that theigniting unit is moved against the action of the :spring toa; deepposition onthe holder in which the. circuit: for the heating element isclosed by the: fingers; 31a; of the: base contact 39 engaging thecontact can, and the conducting cap 40' engaging a contact finger 54lanced fromthe body otthematerial;

In order to maintain the. igniting unit in closed-c'ircuitpositiong.anovelmagnetic latch or detent mechanism is used. In the form. of. the

iimzention as shnwn in..Figs.. L and; 2,. the; tubular holder isprovided with an upstanding lug 56 lanced from the body. A bolt 5'! isdisposed in an aperture and insulated therefrom by insulation 53, and islocked in place by a nut 59. The bolt is connected to a suitable sourceof energy by a connector lug 69 which is connected to a conductor 6|leading from the source of energy, which lug is locked in place on thebolt by a nut 62.

The actuating means for the latch or detent comprises a magnet coil 63which is wound about the exterior of the body of the holding device andis effectively prevented from shifting on the holder by having one sideabut the lug 56 and the other side engage an upstanding finger 64 lancedfrom the body of the holder.

The coil is connected in series between the belt 5 connected to thesource of energy and the base contact. This is accomplished by havingone terminal 65 of the coil connected to the bolt 57:" by beingclampedbetween thenut 59 and the insulation 53'. The other terminal 86 of thecoil is connected to a bolt. 61 carried by a finger 8'8 lanced up fromthe body of the holder adjacent the base thereof. The bolt, which. has ashoulder '89-, is disposed in an aperture in the finger, and insulatedtherefrom by insulation ill, and locked in place by a nut l I) whichalso looks the terminal thereto. i

The other end of the bolt is provided 'w' "h a contact 72 adapted tocooperate. with a movable contact 73 carried by a bimetallic arm M whichprojects from the'interior of the holder andis normally disposed withthe contacts in closedcircuit relation; The bimetallicmember iselectrically connected to the-base contact 3 by being disposed betweenthe contact and the insulation as shown in Figs. 1' and 2, and held inplaceb'y the clamping action of the bolt 32; -While the circuit iscompleted through the heating element by" the igniting unit closing thecircuit between the contacts til-and 54* on the holder, the coiltwill beenergized" and act tohold alaftch lb'in operative holding-position, w

To operate the latch, the holding device is provided with a pole piece76', preferably semicircular, which is secured to the end wall 2! andextends over the magnet coil as shown in figs.

- l and 2; The latch or detent'ili 'is' mounted on the holder so as toextend through suitable openings in the holder and pole piece and intoengagement with the abutment dl on the igniting unit, when the latter isin closed-circuit position,

to maintain the circuit closed and is provided with. an armature llextending into operative relation with the pole piece so as to be heldthereby when. the magnet coil is energized.

.As shown in. Figs. 1 ahdlZ, the latch is mounted on the holder byaresilient element lit. to which the armature ll carrying the latch ordetent T5 is pivoted. at 19. A leaf. spring 80, secured to the resilientelement 1-8 as; byrivets, extends into engagement with and bearsagainstthearmature andinormally urges the latch ordetent 75 to anoperative position, in which positionthedetent -movement of theignitingunit. will: cam or; move the detent outwardly, theresilient memberyielding to permit the detent to so move, and permit the igniting unitto move into closed-circuit position at which time the abutment on theinsulating member will have passed the detent and it will snap into therecess 46 on the insulating cap. 7

The circuit being completed through the magnet coil and heating elementwhen the igniting unit is in this position, the magnet coil will beenergized and will hold the armature II in engagement with the polepiece so that the latch will be held in operative position to resist theoutward movement of the igniting unit under the urge of the Spring,tending to move it to normal open-circuit position.

The latch will hold the igniting unit in closedcircuit position untilthe heating element has been brought up to the desired heat, at whichtime the bimetallic switch will move to opencircuit position shown indot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2 and open the energizing circuit to themagnet coil and heating element; Upon the circuit being broken to themagnet coil, the armature A will be released, and the spring, urging theigniting unit into open-circuit position, will cause the detent tomoveabout its pivot to the dotand-dash position shown in Fig. 2 and outof engagement with the igniting unit.

The switch, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, extends beyond the holder andwill readily cool so that by the time another light is desired theswitch will have cooled ofi and have returned to its normallyclosed-circuit position so that the circuit can be completed through theheating element when the igniting unit is moved into closedcircuitposition.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3 to 5, the holder, ignitingunit and latch mechanism are the same as in the form of the inventionpreviously described. However, the circuit for controlling the operationof the device is altered.

In this form of the invention, a base contact I3I of bimetallicmaterial, having a plurality of resilient contact fingers I3I a, ismounted on the end wall 2| of the holder and insulated therefrom bysuitable insulation. The contact is clamped in place by a bolt I32 whichextends through the wall and insulated therefrom and has a nut I34threaded thereon for drawing the head I33 of the bolt against the faceof the contact, as shown in Fig. 4. The contact I3I is connected to asource of energy through a connector lug I35 mounted on the bolt andconnected to a conductor I36 whichleads to one terminal of a source ofenergy. The connector lug is locked to the bolt by a nut I31.

The magnet coil for operating the latch in this form of the inventionsurrounds the holder and has one terminal connected to a bolt I38insulatedly mounted to project from the holder adjacent the base thereofand locked in place by a nut I38a. The bolt carries a contact finger I39which is electrically connected to the terminal and extends into theholder to a position to engage the ccnducting cap 40 of the ignitingunit when the igniting unit is moved to deep circuitclosing position.The other terminal of the magnet coil is electrically connected to atongue I40 lanced from the holder, and is thu grounded.

The circuit between the base contact and the magnet coil is normallyopen. Upon the igniting unit being moved to closed-circuit position, thecontact cup 42 on the igniting unit will engage the fingers I3 Ia of thebimetallic base contact I3I and the conducting cap will engage thecontact finger I39 and complete the circuit from the source of energythrough the base contact, heatingelement, to the conducting cap, throughthe contact, to the bolt, through the coil to ground.

The latch will cooperate with the igniting unit as previously described.As soon as the igniting unit is in position to complete the circuit, themagnet coil will be energized and will act on the armature TI to holdthe latch in operative position to prevent the igniting unit from movinginto open-circuit position. 7

When the heating coil has been brought to the desired heat, thebimetallic contact finger will have become heated and flex so as to moveaway from the contact cup and will open the energizing circuit. Themagnet coil, being deenergized, will release the magnetic-operateddetent which will move about its pivot, as shown in dot-anddash lines inFig. 4, as the igniting unit is moved to the shallow normal open-circuitposition under the urge of the spring.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 through 8, the holdingdevice and detent mechanism is the same, as previously described in theform of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the exception thatthe terminal 66 of the magnet coil is connected directly to the bolt 32carrying the base contact 3I and is locked thereto by a nut 82.

In this form of the invention, the circuit is designed to abnormallyenergize the heating element upon the circuit being closed so that aheavy current will flow and it will be quickly brought to the desiredheat.

When the heating element is quickly brought to heat, it is desirablethat the circuit be broken as quickly as possible. This is accomplishedby providing the igniting unit with a quick-acting switch I5!) forcontrolling the circuit to the magnet coil and a heating element. Theigniting unit, in this form of the invention, comprises a metallicsleeve I5I having a handle I52 threaded thereon at one end and the otherend provided with a reduced. neck portion I5Ia to which is secured aninsulating cap I53. A heating element I54 is disposed "within a contactcup I55 and is mounted on the insulating cap and secured thereto by acentral stud I56 which is insulated from the contact cup butelectrically connected to one end of the heating element. Theheat-responsive switch includes a movable element I51 which is connectedto the central stud and carries a contact I58 which engages a contactI59 connected to the sleeve I5I. The igniting unit is held in normalopen-circuit position by a friction sleeve and spring as previouslydescribed, the metallic sleeve being connected to the holder through thefriction sleeve 49 by the inturned flange 5I which slidably engages theouter surface thereof.

Preferably, the movable element of the switch I513, carried by theigniting unit, is made of bimetallic material and is provided with asection I68 which is buckled out of the plane of the member as shown inFig. 7 so that it is normally held in closed-circuit position. Theswitch is so designed that it will be heated at the same rate as theheating element so that when the heating element reaches itspredetermined heat, the switch will have become heated to the pointwherein the buckled portion shifts to the other side of the element I51,and snaps it into an opencircuit position, as shown in dotted lines inFig. 7.

When the igniting unit is moved to closed circuit position, the circuitwill be completed from the conductor through the :magnet coil to thebaseccontact and from the base-contact to the contact cup, through theheating element, to the central stud, through the switch arm, throughthe contacts to the metallic sleeve, and to ground through the frictionsleeve. The magnetcoil, being energized, will cause the latch, whichengages an abutment it! on the igniting unit, to hold the igniting unitin closed,- circuit position. Upon the heating element attaining itsdesired heat, thequick-acting switch will move toopen-circuit positionand will open the circuit to the magnet coil which will release thedetent and permit the ignitingunitto move into an open-circuit position.7

From the foregoing, it will be seen that in each instance the ignitingunit is held in closed-circuit position by a latch, which is renderedoperative upon the closing of a circuit through the heating element,until the heating element has attained its desired heat, at which time aheat-responsive switch opens a circuit to a magnet coil which controlsthe operation of the detent and permits the igniting unit to move fromclosed-circuit position to its normal shallow open-circuit position.

I In this position, the circuit cannot be made to reenergize the heatingelement until the igniting unit had been again manually operated intoclosed-circuit position.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In a cigar lighter, a holding device having a magnet. coilsurrounding the body thereof; a detent carried by the holding device andhaving anwarrnature cooperating with the magnet; an igniting unit havinga heating element thereon movably mounted on the holding device andcompletely removable therefrom for use; means for closing an energizingcircuit to the heating element upon movement of the igniting unit intoclosed-circuit position, said detent engaging the igniting unit andholding the same in said closedcircuit position; and-a heat-responsiveswitch for opening the circuit to the magnet upon the heating' elementattaining a desired usable heat whereby the detent releases the ignitingunit from closed-circuit position.

2.111 a cigar lighter, a holding device having a magnet coil surroundingthe body thereof; a detent yieldably and pivotally mounted on theholding device and having an armature cooperating with the magnet; anigniting unit having a heating element thereon movably mounted on theholding device and completely removable therefrom for use; means forclosing an energizing circuit to the heating element and magnet coilupon movement of the igniting unit into closed-circuit position, saiddetent engaging the ignitingunit and holding the same in saidclosedcirouit position; and a heat-responsive switchfor opening thecircuit to the magnet coil upon the heating element attaining itsdesired usable heat whereby the detent releases the igniting unit.

3.. In a cigar lighter, a holding device having a magnet coilsurrounding the body thereof; a

detent yieldably and pivotally mounted on the holding device and havingan armature cooperating with the magnet; an igniting unit having a.heating element and an abutment thereon movably mounted on the holdingdevice and completely removable therefrom for use; means for closing anenergizing circuit to the heating element and magnet coil upon movementof the igniting unit into closed-circuit position, said detent engagingthe igniting unit and holding the same in said closed-circuit position;and a heat-responsive switchv for opening the circuit to the magnet coilupon the heating element attaining a desired usable heat whereby thedetent releases the igniting unit from closedcircuitposition, saiddetent being provided with a cam face whereby it is moved. outwardlyagainst the yieldable mounting means when the igniting unit is moved toclosed-circuit position until it can move into engagement with theabutment thereon.

4. In a cigar lighter, a holding device having a magnet coil surroundingthe body thereof; a contact in the base of the holding device, the coiland contact being electrically connected; an igniting unit having aheating element thereon movably mounted in the holding device andcompletely removable therefrom for use; means for closing an energizingcircuit to the heating element and magnet coil through the contact onthe base upon movement of the igniting unit into closed-circuitposition; a detent operable by the magnet coil for holding the ignitingunit in closed circuit position; and heat responsive switch meansdisposed outside of the holder and in heat-receiving relation with theheating element for opening the circuit to the magnet coil to'therebyrelease the detent upon the heating element attaining its desired usableheat.

HERBERT G. LEI-IMANN.

